Graphics Adam: WEB: FOR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T TECHNICAL

The web isn't as pretty as-- well. This.

http://factor-tech.com/connected-world/19020-declaration-of-internet-rights-italy-introduces-web-bill-promoting-net-neutrality/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ve5u7jfxds

It's tons of wires and connections that communicate all that information you wanna share. Like that picture of your cat you took. And you can't. Stop. Looking.

LOOK AT THIS CAT.

Your modem connects your computer to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Your ISP has a network connection to another network that connects to another.. And so on.

http://homeschool4muslims.blogspot.co.nz/2010/03/visualising-internet.html

How do the networks connect? To the Network Access Point. This acts as said connector. Different ISPs have different Network Access Points, but they eventually all link up.

Since so many of us like sharing our cat videos and pictures, how do we know it's going to get to someone? Through Routers. They make sure the information gets around, and to the right viewer who agrees that cat is just so. Cute.

But how is it so fast? If someone is sharing information from their computer to yours, how's it get there without direct linkage? Not that it isn't impossible.. But, we want to share that cat with the world.

WELL. The "high-speed backbone" is how the information can get everywhere, really quick. A fibre optic trunk, if you will. That's how information and data is zipped around for anyone to be able to see it.

Alright, hardware done.

IP address, you've probably heard of this one before. But what does it do? It's an individual computer's "Internal Protocol" that's always different from one another. They're a sequence of numbers that make sense to the computer, but for use of the Internet, they're turned into web addresses for our brains to make sense of.

http://www.123rf.com/photo_12389076_internet-cloud-vector-image.html

Speaking of web addresses, they're not just words typed up to make your site. There's a system all their own. A DNS (Domain Name System) is needed to allow text to turn into the IP address so the computer can send you to the right place. You're most likely more familiar with the URL (Uninform Resource Location), which are the actual words used to find the website.

DNS servers make it possible to view the website; programs and protocols can be accepted so they can turn domain names into IP addresses.

It's long and complicated, so let's make a list.

Type in a website into the browser.
Root DNS servers looks for the IP.
Sometimes it doesn't work, another DNS server can take over.
Browser asks the new DNS server for the goods.
And the cycle continues until the IP is found.

DNS servers can also cach, which is a fancy term for the server to be able to look for that site again, so it can come up faster.

DNS servers aren't the only type of service. Email servers, web servers, and FTP (File transfer Protocol) servers.

Servers aside, there is another mechanic that helps in viewing Internet content; the client.

Clients—ok, back to hardware—but clients are just what you download your website information to. It can be your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, phone, Nintendo DS. It's rendered out through whatever browser you're using.